


Getting to Know You

by Nanibgal



Series: Midoriya Izuku, Son of Loki [4]
Category: Thor (Movies), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: F/M, I love Deku's hero journals, Loki did not have an easy time growing up, Loki is just looking out for him, Mentions of bitty!Izuku and how much he loved his papa, mentions of past trauma, no seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-03-31 12:12:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13974891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanibgal/pseuds/Nanibgal
Summary: There's a stranger in Midoriya's house, and that man is his father.  A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and one of them needs to take a step in the right direction.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My way of apologizing for all of the lack of updates for a while, a LONG-ASS ONE SHOT. 
> 
> Also, congrats to the winner of the LokInko contest- the lovely and talented LilacDreamSage with her fic "First Meetings"! Please contact me on tumblr at speculativexenolinguist to tell me your prompt :D

 

With the end of term finals approaching, Midoriya did all he could to focus on his tests and not on his tense home situation. He stayed out of his mom and Loki’s way, and they seemed willing to give him space. They talked often. She cried often, though not in the way Midoriya imagined Todoroki’s mom would cry. Her tears were accompanied by things like “I missed you so much”, “Look how cute Izuku was on his first day of kindergarten!”, and “I’m just so worried…” . At times he would come home and see them sitting together on the couch, and either they were watching TV or Loki was showing her something with his magic, aways with one arm around her shoulders and her head resting on him.

In short, whether or not he and Loki would get along well enough to start learning about Izuku’s hidden powers, he wasn’t going anywhere and Izuku needed to get used to it.

What he realized early on was the power that he, Midoriya Izuku, held in the dynamic. If he wanted Loki out of their lives, he would leave. If he told them he never wanted to see Loki’s face again, he could disappear like he had never been there.   He was at once a child needing to live with his parents, but also more like an adult who could have his own say in the house. And give his say he did- he said that his vote on Loki staying or leaving rested entirely on how he treated his mother. He also made his room a “No Teleportation Zone”, and they couldn’t ask questions about how he got his quirk.

Well. Except one.

“Very well,” Loki had said as they sat around the table, “but there is one question which I do need you to answer. Just one.”

Midoriya hadn’t been sure why Loki was pressing the issue, but he gave him the go-ahead to ask.

“When I spoke to All Might, he seemed very fond of you, and I know that you idolize him. Is he maintaining an appropriate and professional relationship with you?”

It had taken Midoriya far too long to piece together what he had just been asked.

“He’s _ALL MIGHT!_ The greatest hero ever!”

Something then had turned dark in Loki’s eyes. “I know this is perhaps an unpleasant topic, but if he is taking advantage of you I want nothing more than to be your ally. If he did something and ordered you not to tell anyone-“

“NO! What the…what the _fuck_ , Loki? Nothing like that has ever happened! How did you… why did you…this is worse than when Todoroki-kun asked if I was his love-child or something.”

Loki had floated an apple from the counter into his hand and inspected it for bruises. “Sometimes even those we think highly of can turn out to have darker sides. There are people out in the world who use their charisma to coerce those weaker than them. Those people are only interested in you because they see you as vulnerable and easy to manipulate.”

The apple had been crushed in his hand, juice and pulp had run down his fingers and onto the table. His eyes had been fixated on a spot near Midoriya’s hands and he hadn’t seemed to notice.

“If there is such a person in your life, I need to know. Either we can go through the courts or I can handle it. You do not have to suffer such a thing.”

Loki then had noticed the remnants of the apple. “Hm. I was going to ask if you wanted half. Shall I get you one?”

Midoriya had shaken his head, still digesting Loki’s words, what they could mean about his past.

“No. There’s no one like that.”

 

* * *

 

While Midoriya sat at his desk and procrastinated on his math homework, he thought again about that conversation with Loki from a few days ago. He assumed that just Midoriya had certain ‘off limits’ topics, Loki probably had a few of his own. From the little fragments he picked up from his parents, Loki’s life before he came to Earth was…complicated. A brother was mentioned here and there but never by name. Loki’s father never came up, but once in a while he’d remark that something reminded him of his mother, usually something like a flower or a song (and cats, she apparently loved cats). Apart from the one time Loki talked about his eldest children and their mother’s fate, they were never spoken of, nor were any of his other children or wives.

He decided to put his homework away until some of his curiosity was sated, so he started searching for information about the Norse god Loki claimed to be.

_Odin, king of the gods…_

_…Freyja, one of the vanir who then married Odin after the war…_

_…Thor, god of thunder and war, the protector of humanity with his hammer Mjölnir…_

_Loki was often associated with magic as well as trickery. He enjoyed playing pranks and flyting. Different variations of stories paint him as instigating and later solving problems with his cleverness. During the Christianization of Scandinavia, more stories featured Loki as an antagonist to make parallels between the pagan god and Satan…_

To Midoriya’s frustration, there were many regional variations of different stories, only certain ones ever codified and even those were allegedly heavily edited for ease of narration or making the stories more Christian-like. There was no actual list of his supposed powers except shapeshifting and casting illusions.

Midoriya pulled out his latest hero journal and made a new entry.

 

_LOKI_

_ Powers:  _

_Shapeshifting (into animals, people, not sure about objects)_

_Teleportation: seen covering short distances_

_Illusions: need more data_

_Telekenisis: small objects, like mom’s quirk_

_Traveling through dimensions (realms?)_

_Can make objects appear and disappear: ask about ‘pocket dimensions’_

_Super strength (?)_

_Longevity/Immorality (over 2000 years old!)_

_Fire-breathing (for the Midoriya Hisashi disguise)_

_He says that his powers come to him from some kind of magical means, so it might work completely differently from quirks. He likes to change back into his ‘normal’ self after wearing his disguise, but doesn’t seem to be fatigued by it even if he spends a number of hours as Midoriya Hisashi. Using his powers doesn’t seem to require a lot of effort and he seems to do things without thinking about it._

_I haven’t seen him fight, but he didn’t seem to be nervous when he was facing down All Might. The fact that Loki has a variety of powers would help him in a fight against any human, since they would assume he has a single quirk like everyone else. I told All Might about Loki having a bunch of quirks, but not what each quirk is. I don’t even know the limits to Loki’s power.   Come to think of it, I don’t know the limits of my power. He said that a lot of his children lived ‘mortal lives’, so I take that to mean they had a regular human lifespan, so I’m probably not immortal._

_There’s still a lot of unknown variables._

_He admitted to killing something called a jötunn when I was little, and that the incident was what drove him to leave. How much blood does he have on his hands? I’m pretty sure that he implied he would kill someone if they ra-_

He took his eraser to that word.

_…if they did something bad to me. I think he was serious too. I don’t know what kind of place Asgård is like, but the way he talks about it the whole place seems really violent. He was apparently a prince? I don’t know what kind of life he led._

Midoriya glanced at his clock and realized that he’d already spent two hours on his ‘side project’ while his math homework remained unfinished.

Fine, no more wasting time trying to search the internet or hypothesize on his own. When he had time, he would go straight to the source. He tore out the two pages of his hero book and put them in a folder, along with some loose-leaf paper. His hero books he would still take to school, but his Loki notes were not leaving his room.

 

* * *

 

Over the weekend, Inko stepped out to do some shopping. Rather than stay in his room, Midoriya marched downstairs and found Loki, who was sitting on the sofa reading a book in Japanese. “If you want me to trust you more you should tell me about yourself. Where did you come from? How did you meet my mom? How much of what I know about you is a lie?”

Loki put down his book and said, “Very well, I suppose I can offer you some information. Sit beside me, we’ll have a chat.”

Loki weaved images into the air. A golden city with skyscraper-high towers, where riders on horseback and clothes from museums fit in seamlessly with interface panels and technological marvels. “Behold, Asgård. I suppose I once called this place home, that shining palace from where Odin Allfather rules, his lone eye surveying all.” An image of the warrior king with his gray beard and golden armor appeared, along with an elegant woman with long hair and a flowing dress. “Queen Freyja of Vanaheim, his wife. Your grandmother. She was my first tutor in the arcane arts, and much of what I will teach to you is knowledge passed to me from her.”

“She’s beautiful.” Izuku wondered what her voice sounded like. Had she and his mom ever met? Did either of his grandparents know that Izuku existed?

“She is. Though she was often blamed for my not developing what they called a warrior’s spirit like my elder brother, Thor.”

A strong-looking blonde man with a full beard and a red cape appeared next. From a hammer which he lifted up high, he called forth lightning.

“ _He’s_ my uncle?”

“Yes,” Loki grumbled, “and proof that you don’t need half a brain to be loved by all. For all the trouble that his pig-headedness would get him in, his ever-faithful little brother was always there to smooth things over or to find a solution through some means other than smashing.” Loki put himself in the image, showing how they used to fight back to back, striking down foes with might and magic. “Though we were said to be equal contenders for the throne, everyone knew that Thor was favored.   He was…let’s say more of a ‘people-person’. My mother told me that Thor would need me by his side, that I was necessary, a trusted advisor and eternal friend.”

Izuku was amazed by how little they resembled each other. Their fighting styles, appearances, and even their color schemes seemed at ends with each other.

“What happened to them?” _Were they really killed?_

“They yet live, as far as I know. They either think me dead or I am dead to them. It may _surprise_ you to know that I did not much get along with the other men in the family.   Once again, I was trying to set something right from the shadows but…” He waved his hand, and showed Odin pulling Thor onto a rainbow bridge, while Loki plummeted into an abyss of stars. Then, the image faded into the air.

“It happened well over a hundred years ago now.   I’m certain that they would be able to find me if they cared to look. It was the culmination of many centuries of grief, and though I do miss being called ‘Prince Loki’, I do not earn for all the baggage that came with with the title, nor the land that granted it to me. Asgård is boring. Stale. Static. Midgård, however? Always changing- I have seen Tokyo when it looked like this,” he showed an image of the modern city, “when it looked like this,” the city blasted to rubble, either from the stuggles during the emergence of Quirks or longer ago, during the Allied bombing. “I even once paid a visit when it was like this.” Traditional buildings and kimono appeared like a window in time- not a single person with a mutation. All quirkless, going about their lives without heroes or villains.

“Is that Edo?”

“Indeed. I was bored and wished to visit somewhere new, so I spent a few months in Japan, traveling between a few different cities, mostly Edo and Kyoto. I wore a disguise, of course, and pretended to be an excentric but wealthy merchant. Let this be one of my first lessons to you- nobody will ask questions if they underestimate you, or if you grease their palms a bit.”

The vision vanished. Midoriya was a little amazed thinking about all he had just learned and seen. A realm away from Earth, a family he’d never met, a look into his country’s past…

And Loki sat there with his hands folded and a smile that struck Midoriya as…hopeful.

“That was really amazing!” He said, completely honestly. It was the right thing to say, because Loki quickly weaved more images into the air.

“Is there anything else you wish to see? This is Sweden in the 8th century, the mountains are still beautiful there. I have left footprints all over the world. ”

Loki’s excitement manifested in how he expanded the vision like a widescreen TV, showing even more of the blue sky and snow-tipped mountains.

“After the break we’re going to start studying the Tokugawa Shogunate. Can you show me more of Edo from that time?”

* * *

 

When Inko returned, it was like she’d opened a door into history, with Loki pointing out different things and Izuku taking careful notes. Loki made vast gestures as he weaved tales about society and language at the time, how people lived, and how they behaved. He was in the middle of a story about a samurai who had taken a strong disliking to him when he noticed her at the door.

“Okaeri, käraste min. I was just giving this studious young man a look into the past.”

“Okaeri, mom.” Izuku waved at her and then turned back to Loki. “Okay, so how did you get out of fighting the samurai?”

“Oh, well since he was a bit drunk I didn’t want to face him in combat. So instead I challenged him to a game of trading insults. A bit unorthodox for Japan, but a common way of settling fights in Asgård without resorting to violence. I can’t remember the exact words traded but he did try and draw steel on me. Luckily, he was too drunk to draw his sword correctly and ended up tripping while taking a step towards me. I took the moment to make my escape.”

 

Inko remembered the first time Loki told her that story, on a date in Tokyo. Seeing Izuku watch enraptured with the tale had her reminicing not only of that date, but when Izuku was little and was amazed by his ‘papa’.

  _Do the magic! Please, papa!_

_Very well, Izuku. Look! Your All Might is now…a rabbit!_

Toys became bunnies and teacups became mice. Izuku always asked to see it again and how it worked. Now, he took notes and raised his hand while Loki showed him Edo.

What had been broken so many years ago could not be fixed overnight, yet…perhaps they could fix it over time. Inko set the groceries down on the floor, slipped on her indoor shoes, and joined her son on the couch to watch her husband’s memories of a time long past, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JAPAN NOTES:  
> The Edo period, which overlapped with the Tokugawa Shogunate, was a time of peace following the bloody Sengoku Jidai or "Warring States Era". Japan was unified and so there were a LOT of samurai who ended up...not having jobs. They made up about 8% of the population, and while many of the higher ranking ones became government officials and the like, plenty more turned to things like gambling and banditry.  
> Under the caste system in Japan, merchants were TECHNICALLY the lowest tier but since trade was booming that didn't stop some from becoming VERY VERY RICH, so much so that a well off merchant was much better off than a poor samurai. However, merchants were not given certain honors. Only samurai could wield long swords like katana, for example. 
> 
> It's called the Edo period because it's when the de facto capital of Japan moved from historical Kyoto (where the emperor resided) to Edo (modern day Tokyo), where the shogun (military leader) lived. Of course, Tokyo was leveled during WWII by American bombings, and I imagine a great deal of destruction happened during the civil unrest when quirks started being A Thing within the history of the story.
> 
> LOKI NOTES:  
> Loki is famous for his skill at flyting, which is a trade of insults in verse. The Old Norse equivalent of rap battles. 
> 
> PERSONAL NOTES:  
> Pretty soon I'm going to move from Tokyo to a small suburb in Yokohama. I'll do my best to keep updating, but I'll be doing a lot of packing and boring stuff like that. My new job started yesterday, and I'm super excited about it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG REAL LIFE.   
> Not much else to say. Things have been crazy and I've actually gotten yet ANOTHER job since my last update. I've been lagging a little on the creative/inspiration side but I decided to add another chapter to this story because I thought more father-son bonding was a good idea (plus we can finally start going into magic lessons.)   
> I've been writing and scrapping ideas here and there- trying to keep the character development slow and gradual is kind of a pain because I keep bouncing between plot ideas and ways for the characters to grow and interact.  
> The next story in the series might be more LokInko focused, we'll see.  
> Also, I'm still working on the three prizes for the winners of the LokInko contest (though I've only heard from two of you about your requests).

 “Tell me about yourself.” Loki was sharpening a set of throwing knives in the living room ike it was nothing out of the ordinary while Midoriya finished up a worksheet for his math class. As it turned out, Loki had an expansive knowledge of many subjects, and aside from a bit of snark he ended up helping more than hindering his studies.

“I barely know a thing abut you, which yes is my own doing, but surely there’s some non-secret bit of personal information you might clue me in on.”

“…Like?” Midoriya’s suspicion lingered, though he felt less overtly hostile towards the self-proclaimed god.

Loki shrugged and tossed his knife in the air, catching its handle each time. “Simple things. What are things you like, aside from all things heroic? What are your hobbies? Favorite weapons? Favorite foods?”

_Favorite weapons?_ Was that a legitimate question in Asgård or was Loki just messing with him?

“Uh…my favorite food is katsudon. I usually think of excersing as my hobby, but that’s kind of tied into hero training. Otherwise I guess reading? Comics and light novels are cool I guess but I really like reading about how things work.”

Loki put his knives back into his ‘pocket dimension’ and leaned in to hear more. “What kind of things?”

“Anything? Quirk stuff, but biology itself is neat. So is chemistry, psychology…you have to know a bit about everything if you study quirks, and I’ve been analyzing quirks my whole life. When I see a new one I basically open up a new research project and start reading books and articles to help me understand them.”

“Is there so much to them?”

“Of course! There’s a girl in my class who can make objects appear out of parts of her body, as long as she understands the molecular construction of those objects, but she seems to create mass where none exists- I’ve seen her create a motorscooter, and while I guess it’s possible that she is heavier than she looks or has some sort of greater than average density, the fact that she retains her shape after creating large objects leads me to believe that she is somehow changing other molecules around her, not only ones from inside of her. This is all assuming her quirk is still in line with the Law of Conservation of Mass, which it might not be come to think of it…” He realized that he was at the part of his diatribe where people’s eyes would start to glaze over or they were nearing the end of their patience. An apology formed on his tongue and died on his lips when he saw Loki moving even closer.

“Incredible! She must have a thorough understanding of mechanical engineering to create functioning machines. I believe I saw her- Yaoyoruzu-san, was it? She fought in the Yuuei Sports Festival, pity she was taken out of the running so soon though the young man who defeated her was quite impressive himself… Yet it is interesting that you bring up her skill set, because use of magic often requires changes to different matter on the molecular level. There’s much more involved, and that only covers certain branches of magic, but the basic principle seems to be the same. Actually breaking the Law of the Conservation of Mass is much more difficult, and often not worth the trouble in my opinion. It is far easier to summon or to banish than to create or destroy.”

Midoriya’s eyes bugged out as he listened to Loki- someone who not only encouraged him to speak but understood. More than understood, he had _more to teach him._

Not even his classmates were interested in what he had to say about quirks and quirk theories. Not even his teachers, besides giving him outstanding marks on his papers, devoted any particular time to helping him fine-tune that interest. Loki, from what Midoriya could tell, was _himself_ a researcher.

“I imagine there are quirks that can accomplish many of the same things that I do,” Loki said, “some with greater efficiancy than magic, assuming they train hard enough. My skill, rather our skills, lie in the fact that we can take on multiple abilities and use them to expand our options. As they say, Jack of all trades, master of none- better than a master of one.”

“I…actually agree with that.” Versatility was championed as a hero skill- not only in quirks but in tactics and abilities. Todoroki-kun’s quirk could be used in any number of ways, and now that he was experimenting with his left side he would discover even more. His own quirk was fairly flexbile too- just punching things was useful, but he had learned how to propel himself up buildings and across rooftops. Yet, the drawbacks were still numerous- even once he was able to wield his full power, in case of a fight confrontations would have to almost always be head-on. Collateral damage would be difficult to avoid in even the best circumstances. Long range attacks? Forget it. Unless he had equipment…

He watched Loki toy with his knife. Bladed weapons were uncommon in the hero world, usually the thing of villains like Stain. Guns were still used by the police force and some heroes like Snipe, but their use was heavily regulated. Weapons just…weren’t done so much. Seeing Loki so comfortable with a blade just reminded Midoriya that they came from different worlds, and that Loki’s past was…probably best not to think about.

“I don’t like weapons,” he said, answering Loki’s earlier question and segueing into his own, “but what kinds of things can magic do?” 

The knife fell onto the tip of Loki’s finger, where it balanced straight and still. “Current academia suggests that magic can accomplish virtually any feat given three things: the magic user requires the knowledge of how to achieve the feat, the energy to draw upon, and the strength of will to see it done.”

“Hold on! I need a notebook!” Midoriya dashed up the stairs to his room. Surely he had a fresh Campos notebook somewhere? From outside of his door, he heard Loki say,

“I can give you a notebook, you know. I have one right here.”

Midoriya opened the door and Loki presented him with what he could only describe as a tome three fingers high with a hard cover decorated in golden runes and what looked like precious stones.

“That’s too fancy!   That’s a book for a royal diary!”

Loki pressed it into Midoriya’s hands. “You _are_ royalty, technically.”

“Not the point! This is nice paper, I can’t waste it writing notes and diagrams! My handwriting is terrible, this needs like…one of those feather pens and I don’t even know how to write with one of those.”

“Use Frixion pens or even pencils if you want. It’s a book. It doesn’t care.” He pressed it more insistently into Midoriya’s hands. “Technically it’s part of your omiyage, so I’m afraid you must accept. Curse those rules of polite societal convention, yes?”

Midoriya leveled the most deadpan stare he had ever managed in his fifteen years of life. “Are you trying to tell me that you brought back _souveniers_ from leaving for a decade?”

Point to him for leaving the God of Lies tongue-tied for a moment, though he regained composure within moments. “Well, I couldn’t come home completely empty handed, could I? I wasn’t sure what you might like, so a journal which you could fill with your own ideas and interests was a safer bet than something to clutter your shelves or waste space in your closet.”

Midoriya wondered what Loki had given his mother.

“I’ll accept the book. I need somewhere to write magic notes and I guess this works. Thank you, Loki.” He grabbed a pen off of his desk and opened to the first page, writing:

 

**_MAGIC ANALYSIS FOR THE FUTURE_ **

**_No. 1_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTEBOOK AND PEN NOTES:  
> In BNHA the students carry notebooks by the brand Campos, which is a letter off from the actual Campus notebooks that are sold everywhere here. They’re like Japan’s version of those black and white composition notebooks (ah, the memories…the wretched, painful memories…). Midoriya’s Hero Notes are “Campos”, as are the ones used in class. Yaoyoruzu holds up a pink one at one point. The most common colors are blue, white, and pink.
> 
> Frixion pens are a popular brand of erasable pens. The ink comes in many different colors and you can get cute pens as well as customize with pen cases and choose various ink colors to load. The ink turns invisible when exposed to heat, which you can get by rubbing the ‘eraser’ onto the paper (the ‘friction’ part of frixion). Apparently the ink will reappear if you put it in the freezer but I haven’t tried that yet (stay tuned).
> 
> JAPANESE CULTURE NOTES:  
> Omiyage are presents that you bring back to people after you go on a trip. In Japan, you don’t just get souveniers for yourself, you bring back stuff to people you work with, people in your family, and your friends. Failing to do so is really rude. (Us foreigners have to bring back stuff when we go to visit our home countries. It’s great to get unique/local food.) Omiyage is food most of the time, but it can be other things (priceless treasures are uncommon, but Loki does what he wants).


End file.
